Made a new order of cards. This time, it was for the Kalaupapa County DXpedition. Pretty much the same experience as the last time (see Dec 29, 2002).

Great turnaround on the proofs, getting little things corrected. This time, the finished product was done from a 300 DPI scan of 4x6-inch photo, emailed to ELLI. No mailing of a photo was necessary. The bitmap was 24-bit color, 1193 pixels high x 1776 pixels wide, 5.2 Mbytes compressed TIFF file, plus a few misc bit map graphics. A 600 DPI file would have been 21 Mbytes, but it was not necessary.

Last order, I received it in seven days. This time, the first shipment was lost in the international mail. The second shipment took 28 days, and it appears that the US postal service sent the international airmail package via bulk mail surface ship (4 days transit) from San Francisco to Hawaii. Why the airmail package would be sent surface ship is unclear. So allow ample time (1 to 4 weeks) for airmail from CZ to USA.

Elli wanted to ensure that we received our cards, so Lubos and the crew had prepared a third batch. However, the package from the second shipment arrived that very afternoon, so the third shipment was not necessary. For their willingness to ensure customer satisfaction even though the shipping is outside of their control, plus a superb finished product, they get a "5+" rating.

A great card. Quite accurate color reproduction printed on the card even though the colors looks a little dark and muddy on a TFT laptop display. I almost want to go on another DXpedition so I can get another card made! It's well worth the wait, and it made an ELLI believer out of my DXpediton partner. I hope you'll give them a try and see.